


Kindergarten Cuties

by prucanada



Series: Princess Madeline [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, F/M, Not Beta Read, Old reposted fic, they get up to a lot of antics, this was written in august 2013 apparently
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-14 23:57:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 12,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11218938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prucanada/pseuds/prucanada
Summary: The adventures of little Madeline and Gilbert as they discover the perils of the kindergarten classroom. Who knew it was so tough being five?!A series of one-shots set during their kindergarten year.





	1. Holding Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Originally a 30-Day OTP Challenge which was never finished! Also serves as a continuation of Kindergarten Princess, taking place during the year described in that fic.

Little Madeline clutched timidly at the skirt of her long dress, staring down at her feet. It was only the second day of school , and Gilbert wasn’t here yet. Moving carefully and quietly toward one of the tables in the classroom, she hoped that no one would notice her; she was shy, and didn’t know any of the other kids in class.

She sat down in a little blue plastic chair, tucking her skirt around her legs and picking a red crayon from the box. Madeline looked around. Gilbert still wasn’t here, though more of her classmates were arriving with their parents. She withdrew on herself even more as a tall, chubby boy sat down across from her, selecting a purple crayon for himself. Where was Gilbert? She needed him! She didn’t want to be alone anymore! 

Sniffling quietly, Madeline drew her arms in tight to her body, coloring on the paper with small, light strokes. He would be here soon, right? She didn’t want to think that maybe he wouldn’t be here at all today…! She wiped at her eyes, sniffling again.

Suddenly, a loud laugh came from the doorway, and Maddie quickly looked over her shoulder to see the strange silver hair and red eyes of her new friend, Gilbert. She felt relief wash over her, and she sent him a small, sweet smile. 

“Princess Madeline!” the boy exclaimed, racing straight over to her. He stopped beside her, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, and gave her a quick once-over, breaking into a wide grin. “How’s your kingdom doing? Good?” He laughed again, hopping up into the chair beside her.

Madeline nodded, still smiling, and said in her whisper-quiet voice, “Very well, thank you. …I was scared you weren’t coming.” She looked back down at her paper, continuing to draw.

“A’course I came!” Gilbert said, reaching over and taking one of her hands in his. “I’m not gonna leave ya ‘lone! I promise!” He gave her hand a squeeze.

Giggling quietly, Madeline nodded, squeezing back. Of course he wouldn’t leave her alone! Gilbert was nice and helpful. He was her best friend (even though they’d met only yesterday)! Her smile grew wider then, and she continued coloring, now with more vigor, her other hand still captured by his own.


	2. Cuddling

It was dark and scary, and Madeline could see only the outlines of her fellow classmates. Sitting scrunched up in a corner of the room, she pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees and squeezing her eyes tightly shut. A low rumble sounded in the distance, building in volume until it was all that could be heard, aside from the shrieks and whimpers of the other children.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a thunderstorm. Nothing to be scared of!” “Oh dear, it looks as though the power’s gone out. Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll come back on soon.” Their teacher tried to calm them, but it wasn’t as easy as she seemed to think it would be. The small kindergarten class was thrown into a panic as the children ran back and forth frantically, crying or screaming.

Madeline shook her head and pressed her face into her knees, waiting for it to end. She hated storms. Her big brother Alfie loved them, but she only felt safe during them if she was sitting with her mommy or her daddy. Why weren’t they here? Why wouldn’t they come get her?? A quiet whimper escaped her, and she felt her eyes fill with tears.

“Princess Madeline?” 

She lifted her head, shaking slightly, to see her best friend standing in front of her, his silver hair bright even in the darkness. He was a welcome sight, and she shot to her feet, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder.

He laughed lightly, pulling her to him and moving to sit back against the wall with her. “Don’t worry, Maddie!” he said in his funny way. “The storm’s almost over! Promise!” 

She nodded, tightening her hold on him and stifling a gasp as the room lit up with lightning, causing more shrieks and squeals. It was almost over? Well, why hadn’t it stopped yet? Couldn’t it stop now?? Gilbert held her closer, keeping his arms tight around her. “It’s just a storm. It’ll be gone in a little while, okay? Don’t worry, Princess!”

They sat that way for a few minutes longer, clinging to each other as the angry rumbles gradually faded away, and suddenly, the room filled with light, illuminating the mess the panicking children had made of the classroom. The storm was over, then? It was safe? Madeline pulled away slightly, smiling at Gilbert as he did the same. “See?” he said triumphantly, grinning at her. “Thunderstorms aren’t scary! Not when you have someone else! Right?”

And Madeline wholeheartedly agreed, hugging him tightly once more.

 


	3. Movie-Watching

Their teacher had told the class that she had a special treat for all of them that day. Sitting on the play mat with Madeline, Gilbert ran a little red fire truck back and forth. “What d’you think the s’prise is?” he asked, looking at his friend. Was she going to give them cookies or cupcakes? That would be awesome!

Madeline shrugged, building a garage out of blocks for Gilbert to park the fire truck in, once he finished saving the house she’d made a few minutes ago. Their teacher had been very vague on the subject, only telling them that it was something they would really enjoy. “…Can you hand me a red block?” she asked, receiving an absentminded nod and one of several blocks sitting to Gilbert’s left.

She was interrupted as she was putting the block in place when the teacher stood up out of her chair and clapped her hands twice. “Alright, kids! Come sit on the story mat! It’s time for the special treat!

Gilbert leapt to his feet, nearly toppling the structure Madeline had been building. She sent him an exasperated look, but he was already gone, plunking himself down beside his friend Francis on the story mat. She frowned, then stood up and followed after him, clutching the skirt of her long dress and lifting it a bit as she sat cross-legged beside him, draping it across her legs. 

Their teacher went over to the door and pulled in a big TV on a rolling cart, and all of the children gasped and cheered excitedly. “D’you see that, Princess Madeline??” Gilbert exclaimed, grabbing onto one of her arms. “We’re goin’a watch a movie!” He grinned widely, and she nodded and smiled back in return. Turning to face the teacher again, he called out, “What’re we watching?? Somethin’ cool? Right? What is it? What are we watchin’??” 

Laughing, the teacher motioned for him to sit back down, turning on the TV and sliding a DVD into the player. Once the kids had settled down again, she stated, ‘We’re going to be watching Rapunzel.”

Madeline felt her smile widen, and she seized Gilbert’s arm happily. Rapunzel was one of her favorite movies! She tilted her face to look up at him, and he gave her his usual wide grin. “What? You like this movie? I never saw it! Is it good? It must be good if Princess Madeline likes it!”

The teacher shushed them again. “You have to be quiet during the movie, okay? If you’re good, we can watch another movie soon.”

The kids quieted down, and the movie began to play. Gilbert was enraptured from the beginning; thieves and guards on horseback, chasing each other through the forest. Beside him, Madeline was practically bouncing with excitement, eyes wide as she watched. Rapunzel reminded him of Madeline immediately. Her long, pretty blonde hair (but Princess Madeline’s wasn’t  _ that _ long!), her big smile, and even her dress was the same! If he had ever needed proof that Madeline was a princess, here it was.

As the movie progressed, he and Madeline found themselves leaning on each other, Madeline giggling whenever he made a silly joke about it. The more he thought about it, the more Rapunzel reminded him of her. Hadn’t Madeline’s crown been stolen by pirates last year? It was almost like the movie! But if Madeline was Princess Rapunzel, then what did that make him? Not Flynn! He was a nice guy, but he was a thief! Gilbert wasn’t a thief. Gilbert was a knight, he decided with a nod. But as he watched his best friend smile and laugh at the movie, Gilbert realized that he didn’t want to be a knight.

He wanted to be a prince.


	4. Date

Sitting atop the jungle gym, Gilbert grinned down at Madeline. “Come on! It’s not that high, promise!” he called, urging her up. Recess was already halfway over, and so far, she had refused to go any higher than the first rung. 

“Yes it  _ is _ !” she replied, stubbornly crossing her arms. It was  _ really  _ high, she couldn’t climb that high! Only  _ boys _ could do things like that! “I’m not going up!”

He gave her an exaggerated pout. “Pleeeease, Princess? All the really tough and awesome princesses climb things!” He elongated the last syllable, turning the statement into a whiny plea. Madeline crossed her arms and sighed up at him. Why did he want her to climb up so much? It was stupid. Boys were stupid.  _ He _ was stupid.

Gilbert hooked his legs over one of the bars and hung down, looking her straight in the eyes and chuckling. “Come on, Princess,” he said. “I’ll help you up. Pleeease? It’ll be fun! Please please please please pleeeeease?”

She stared him down for a few moments before gritting her pinching her lips together and giving him a reluctant nod. “Okay,” she said exasperatedly. “But only ‘cause you said please!”

Letting out a whoop of delight, Gilbert righted himself before climbing down to stand beside her. “Come on! We’ll go up together! Ja?”

“Fine. But you’re a meanie head.” She stuck her tongue out at him and giggled, before taking hold of the bars and hesitantly lifting herself up. Looking up at the tippy-top of the jungle gym, she bit her lip. It was really high….

“You won’t fall, don’t worry,” he told her, matching her steps. “ ‘Member Rapunzel? She could just fling her hair up to the top and swing up there! It was so cool! If you got your hair real long, I bet you could do that, too!”

She giggled again, climbing carefully up the side of the jungle gym and listening to Gilbert prattle on, trying not to think about how high she was climbing. Only boys were supposed to climb things! That’s what Alfie said! But if Gilbert thought it was okay, then it was okay. She’d be okay if she climbed with him.

They reached the top before she’d even realized it, and Gilbert sat down, reaching out to take her hand and help her to sit beside him. “See?” he said proudly. “I knew you could do it! ‘Cause you’re awesome!” He turned to look out over the playground. “And isn’t it cool up here? You can see everythin’! Look; you can even see into the big kids’ playground!” He pointed, and Madeline noted that she could, indeed, see the first through fourth graders playing on their own playground.

“Hey!” she said, grabbing onto his arm. “Look! There’s Alfie!” She waved to him, but he didn’t respond, so she turned back to Gilbert with a big grin. “It’s fun up here!” 

“See? I told you! Aren’t you glad you listened to me, Princess? We should come up here every day! It can be our special spot!”

Madeline squeezed his arm, laughing, and nodded. Their special spot. It sounded good. Ans as long as she was with Gilbert, she knew she’d be safe.

 


	5. Kissing

The play was almost over. All the parents and teaches sat in the audience, watching with proud smiles and laughing occasionally at the kids’ antics onstage. Madeline had been terrified at first, her knees shaking and her voice too soft. But Gilbert was there, and Alfie was in the audience, smiling at her the whole time, and even icky Francis and weird Ivan were making her feel better! She could pretend that no one else was there but her family and her friends, and it didn’t take long before she was acting out her pat perfectly.

They came to the last scene, and all the kids dressed as trees and flowers stood to the side to make a path for he, so she could walk to Gilbert. She was growing nervous again, now that everyone was quiet, watching her. But she simply sucked in a deep breath, stared straight ahead, and strode toward him. She couldn’t see his face, because he was wearing a donkey mask. 

She swallowed, glancing out at the audience, and then back at Gilbert. …How did he line go again…? “Um…w-with…with this…with this….” She couldn’t remember! It was the last line she had to say, and she couldn’t remember! Everyone was going to laugh at her!

“It’s ‘With this kiss I set you free’,” Gilbert murmured quietly, and she breathed out a sigh of relief, nodding. Raising he voice, she repeated, “With this kiss, I set you free!” and then she leaned in close and kissed the donkey mask on the nose. A loud “BOOM!” came from above, and the lights went out. Quickly, Madeline pulled Gilbert’s mask off, dropping it to the floor. 

When the lights came back on, she and Gilbert stood in the center of the stage, holding hands and facing each other, smiling. Gilbert cleared his throat. “Thank you, Good Fairy. You have helped me…um…a lot today.” He grimaced, knowing he’d messed up; but he continued on, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. 

Madeline couldn’t help herself; she blushed and giggled, as all the other kids started cheering and the music began to play. Still holding hands, she and Gilbert tuned to face the audience, taking a big bow. The audience began to cheer, too, and Madeline felt herself swell with pride. Looking up at Gilbert, she grinned at him, and he grinned back.

Yeah, she decided. No matter what Alfie said, kisses were nice. Especially when they were from Gilbert.

 


	6. Clothing Swap

Gilbert flushed bright red with embarrassment as his classmates snickered at him. He looked down towards the floor, pretending to admire his shoes. His sneakers had been replaced with the shiny black flats that Madeline usually wore, and he blushed harder, folding his arms across his chest and pouting. He didn’t want to wear this stupid dress. Beside him, Madeline put her hand on his shoulder, and he glanced up briefly.

“I’m sorry, Gilbert,” she murmured, biting her lop and fidgeting slightly. She wore Gilbert’s usual clothes, which consisted of a tee shirt and jeans, which were a bit baggy on her. “…I didn’t know that Alfie was gonna make us do this….”

He shook his head, pushing all thought of the other children out of his mind and focusing only on her. “Nah, ‘s okay, Princess,” he said reassuringly. It wasn’t Madeline’s fault that her brother was a…a  _ butthead _ . And she shouldn’t look so sad! She looked fine in his clothes. They didn’t suit her nearly as much as the long dresses did, but Madeline would probably look good in anything. Lifting the hem of his shirt, he twirled around, grinning at her. “I look good, anyway, see? I look awesome!”

Madeline’s expression brightened a bit, and she giggled, nodding. “Yeah! Now  _ you’re  _ a princess. Princess Gilbert!” she laughed.

The other kids were leaving now, since Gilbert didn’t seem to care if he got teased anymore; what was the point in teasing a kid who didn’t care? It was boring.

Gilbert laughed, taking Maddie’s hand. “Ja!” he replied, pulling her over to their table, his skirt fluttering slightly as he walked. “Princess Gilbert and his awesome knight, Sir Madeline! Right? Awesome, right?”

Laughing, she nodded again, hugging him around the waist. “You’re the awesomest princess ever, Gilbert! You’re the bestest!”

 


	7. Cosplaying

“You kids be careful, now.” Madeline’s mother grinned at the costumed bunch in front of her, kneeling down to look her children in the eyes and kiss their foreheads. Alfred, dressed in his new cowboy costume and brandishing two bright blue water guns, scoffed at the affection, moving over to stand beside his new friend, Arthur. 

“’M not a  _ baby, _ Mom!” he said. “I’ll be careful!” He wrapped an arm around his black-cloaked friend, who muttered something under his breath.

“Good. Then watch out for your little sister, okay?” Their mother chuckled at him, then rubbed her nose against Madeline’s, making her giggle. “You be good, alright? My little princess.” She straightened up then and shooed them away, grinning as they ran off to go trick-or-treating.

Madeline looked at her brother, who was already running ahead of them and dragging Arthur with him, then over at Ivan and his big sister, Katie, who was supposed to be taking care of them. “O-oh, please!” she called, taking Ivan’s hand and running after the two boys. “Your mothers told me not to be separated from you! Come back, please!”

Now they were much farther ahead of her, and Madeline had to hurry to try and catch up, lifting the skirt of her poofy pink dress so she wouldn’t trip on it. Her little golden crown felt like it was going to fall off, and she grabbed onto it too, running down the sidewalk after her friends.

Running was made difficult due to her pink plastic high heels. One of her feet hit the ground at a wrong angle, and, with a small cry, she tumbled forward, throwing her arms across her face to protect it. Her arms and knees scraped harshly against the rough pavement of the sidewalk, and she rolled onto her back as soon as she could, clutching at her wounds and crying, too quietly to be heard. 

This was the worst Halloween ever. Her costume was ruined, her friends had all forgotten about her, and she was probably going to die here, all alone. The tears flowed faster now, and a sob escaped her.

“Well, what happened here?” A voice with a very thick accent called. Madeline could barely understand what he was saying, but at least someone would help her. She sniffled, forcing herself to stop crying, and tilted her head slightly to see a very tall man with long blond hair and a stern expression. He was scary!!

“Oh no! Princess Madeline!” Another voice from nearby, one which she recognized. 

“G-Gilbert?” she stuttered out, slowly and carefully sitting up, cheeks still wet. Turning her head, she saw that it was indeed her friend, dressed up as a devil and wearing an expression of deep concern.

“Ja, it’s me! Are you okay, Princess?” Gilbert knelt beside her, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “Hey, it’s okay! My vati brought some band-aids and stuff! ‘Cause he thought I’d hurt myself or someone! Which I wouldn’t. I’m too awesome to hurt myself! …Er, not that you’re not awesome. You totally are! I just meant—!”

The tall blond man (Vati? She didn’t know what a vati was…) sighed, kneeling down beside Madeline and pushing Gilbert gently away. “Here,” he said in a stiff tone. “Let me see your scrapes.

Glancing at Gilbert and receiving a nod of encouragement, Madeline carefully unbent her arms and legs, pointing out her various injuries. The man nodded and silently began to treat them, and Madeline held in the hisses of pain as he dabbed at them with alcohol pads.

“Are you out here all alone??” Gilbert asked as his father treated her wounds. She shook her head.

“No…my brother and Ivan and Katie and Artie. They’re here. But they forgot about me….” It had been happening more and more recently, with Alfred at least. Now that he was in first grade and making all sorts of cool friends, he didn’t want to hang out with her anymore, and he was always pushing her aside and forgetting her.

“What? Well, where’d they go? Did they leave you all alone??” Gilbert hugged her again, causing his father to sigh at having his work interrupted. “You can come with us, Princess Madeline! It’ll be fun! Hey, your costume’s cool! You’re Princess Peach! Awesome!!”

Madeline smiled gladly at him as the blond man placed a bandage on her knee and straightened up. 

“Ja, you can come with us,” he said in that same tone. “We’ll help you find your friends.” 

She nodded, forgetting the pain of her skinned knees, and stood up, taking Gilbert’s hand in hers. “Okay,” she said softly. “It’ll be fun.” She grinned at him, happy that she would get to spend time with her best friend.

 


	8. Shopping

“Vati! Vati, what about this one??” Gilbert raced down yet another toy aisle, snatching up a big box and hefting it toward him. “See? See? Lutz’ll love it! Right? Right??” He beamed proudly up at his father, who sighed and motioned for him to put it back.

“It’s too expensive, Gilbert. I already bought some toys for Ludwig, and I’m sure he’ll be happy with them.” The tall blond man continued down the aisle.

Gilbert sighed and obediently put the box back, staring longingly at the Lego military base he knew his little brother would love to get for Christmas. He wished he could get it for him, but apparently it wasn’t possible. 

Looking up, he realized that his father was no longer within sight, and he began to panic. “Vati??” he called. “Vati! Where are you?” He raced down the aisle. He couldn’t have gone too far; he had been right there a second ago!

There he was! Standing in another aisle, talking to a very familiar lady. Was that who he thought it was…? Gilbert slowed his pace, walking closer so he could see.

As he neared the adults, he noticed a stirring around the woman’s skirts and focused his gaze toward it. As he watched, a little blond girl peeked nervously out around the skirts and broke into a grin. 

“Gilbert!” Madeline called, releasing her mother’s skirt and running to him. She wrapped her arms tightly around him for a moment before releasing him and taking a step back.

The boy grinned and hugged her back. “Hi, Princess Madeline!” he said. “What’re you doin’ here? Are you guys goin’ Christmas shoppin’ too?”

She nodded. “Yeah! We got some cool stuff for Alfie, and some stuff for Daddy—I picked out a tie for him that has little white teddies on it—but Mommy won’t let me see what she’s getting for me.” She laughed quietly.

“Come on, you two,” said her mother, and both children looked up at her. “Let’s finish shopping, alright? Don’t get left behind now.” She gave them both a kind smile and then continued walking, pushing her shopping cart next to Gilbert’s father and talking with him.

Taking Madeline’s hand, Gilbert pulled her after them, making sure to keep up with them. “What sorts of things did you get for Alfie?” he asked. He didn’t really like Alfie much—not since he’d made him wear Madeline’s dress—but he wanted to compare it to the things they’d picked out for little Ludwig.

“Nerf guns and a new cowboy hat,” she said. “And some other stuff. Alfie likes cowboys a lot. He says he’s gonna be a sheriff when he grows up. He said I have to be a can-can girl.” She huffed at that, following their parents around a corner.

Gilbert nodded. That sort of thing wouldn’t interest Lutz. Well, maybe the Nerf guns, but still. He paused, frowning at her. “…What’s a can-can girl?” he asked, nose wrinkling.

Madeline looked up at him and giggled. “It’s a girl that wears a long poofy dress and stands in a line with other girls in long poofy dresses and does this.” Releasing Gilbert’s hand, Maddie placed her hands on her hips and began a jig of sorts, kicking her legs out one at a time and bouncing on the other. “Can you, can you do the can-can? We can do the can-can. Can-can can can can can can can can.” she sang.

Gilbert laughed. “That’s funny!” he said. “You can be a can-can girl if you want! You’re good at it!” he hugged her again.

She shook her head. “I don’t wanna be a can-can girl. I wanna be a sheriff, too.” She sighed. “But Alfie says girls can’t be sheriffs ‘cause they’re not good enough.” She scuffed a toe along the linoleum tile.

“What? That’s dumb. Alfie’s dumb dumb dumb.” He stuck his tongue out and folded his arms. “Girls can be sheriffs! I bet you’d be a real good sheriff! You’d make sure everyone did what they were s’posed to, and you’re real fast, and if someone didn’t listen to ya, you could just shoot ‘em with a Nerf gun!” He grinned again. “Sheriff Princess Madeline! It’ll be great!”

There was a pause, and then she giggled again. “Yeah,” Madeline said. “Sheriff Princess Madeline! That’s what I’ll be!” Puffing up her chest proudly, she grabbed his hand and pulled him after the adults, who were once again turning a corner with their carts.

 


	9. Friends

Gilbert sneezed, wiping at his nose with a gloved hand. “I wanna go inside!” he whined. “It’s way too cold out here!” He hugged himself and scuffed a the snow blanketing the playground.

“Awww, but Gil! We’re gonna have a snowball fight!” Madeline was sitting in a snowbank, wearing a coat far too thin to be considered winter attire. She was carefully making snowballs with her small mittened hands, forming them into delicate balls. Beside her, Ivan sat too, also making snowballs, though his were bigger and denser.

“Da! A fun snowball fight with our friends. My team will win. We will crush you!” Ivan grinned at Gilbert, who shivered and looked away, frowning.

“I don’t care. It’s cold, and snowballs are cold, and I wanna go inside!” 

Francis sighed, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. “We can’t go inside anyway, Gilbert. Recess isn’t over yet.” Francis had resigned himself to the imminent snowball fight, though he was just as ready to go inside as Gilbert was. He watched his friends amass their arsenal, shifting from side to side. “Are you done yet? How many snowballs do we need?”

“A lot,” Madeline replied without glancing up, her eyes trained on the ball in her hands. “Like, a  _ lot _ a lot. Tons.”

Their friend Pahki, a girl with long, dark hair, shook her head. “Why are you always so happy in the snow? The snow’s cold and boring! Can’t we find something better to do? We could climb the jungle gym!” She turned to Gilbert. “Gilbert, come on! Let’s go do something else. Leave them to their snow. Come on, pleeeease?”

Madeline looked up then, watching them. Gilbert wasn’t going to leave, was he? Sure, she would still have Ivan, Francis, and Carlos, but Gilbert was her  _ best _ friend (and she liked Pahki, too). Her hands stilled on the snowball she was making, and she bit her lip, worrying.

Gilbert shook his head with a sigh. “No,” he said resignedly. “We promised we’d play, so we have to stay. Ya can’t break promises, Pahki.” He looked back at Madeline, who was now beaming at him, and frowned. “Just hurry up and make your dumb snowballs, okay?” He shivered again.

Beside them, Carlos was juggling a hard, compact snowball back and forth between his gloved hands. “Don’t worry, you guys. We’ll go in soon.” He grinned at Pahki, who huffed and crossed her arms.

“I think we have enough now!” Ivan said happily, surveying his and Madeline’s piles. “So it’s time to pick teams! Who wants to be on Madeline’s team?” He looked around at everyone with a big grin, expecting everyone to join his team.

“I will!” Carlos and Gilbert called at the same time, turning to glare at each other.

“I wanna be on Maddie’s team!” said Carlos, clenching his fist tightly around the snowball.

Gilbert shook his head. “No,  _ I _ wanna be with her! The knight always protects the princess.” He smirked at the other boy. He would win. He was  _ always _ on Madeline’s team for whatever they were doing!

“You can both be on my team!” Madeline interrupted. “Me and Gilbert and Carlos against you guys! Francis and Pahki, go to the other side of the snow bank!” She grinned widely, standing and pulling her teammates over to her pile. “You gotta dodge their snowballs! Ivan made his too hard. And  _ don’t  _ hit anyone in the face! It’s mean. Okay?”

Gilbert nodded, picking up a snowball and turning to face the other team, who were already in place. “So…when do we start?” he asked, frowning.

A ball of ice hit him in the shoulder then, he let out a yelp of pain, glaring at Ivan. “Hey! No fair! Nobody said ‘Go!’”

“Go? Okay!” Grinning, Ivan threw another snowball at him, which he thankfully dodged this time. Laughing, Madeline handed Carlos a snowball and picked one up for herself, aiming at Ivan and hitting him directly in the chest. 

She loved snow. She loved snowball fights. She loved her friends, from Francis all the way up to Gilbert.


	10. Animal Ears

“Alright,” their teacher said, clapping her hands to call the children to order. The chatter and various other sounds in the room died down almost immediately, the kids turning to face her expectantly. She only clapped her hands like that when she had something really cool to tell them!

“What do you think it is this time, Gil?” Madeline whispered, staring straight at the teacher.

“I dunno. Maybe another movie? She has cool movies!”

“Gilbert, Madeline. Quiet please.” Their teacher smiled at them, and once their mouths were firmly closed, she reached under her chair and pulled out a thick book, like the kind Madeline’s daddy liked to read from. That was weird—usually she only read them picture books. Madeline frowned.

“Today,” the teacher continued, “I’m going to read you a story, and you’re going to act out all the parts. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

Madeline blinked. Act out all the parts…? Like when they did the play? She looked around at her classmates, who all seemed enthusiastic about the idea. She nodded, smiling. She could do that! It would be fun to act out the parts while the teacher was reading! Reaching over, she squeezed Gilbert’s hand and gave him a grin.

The teacher smiled at her students and pulled a plastic chest off of one of the shelves, opening it and showing them the costume pieces inside. “Okay!” she said cheerfully. “Who wants to be the turkey?”

No one raised their hands. Gilbert snickered, muttering to Madeline, “No one wants to be a turkey. Heh…. But Ivan’s already a turkey.” He grinned, and Madeline held back a giggle, glancing over at their friend.

“No one? Alright, I’ll pick someone later then.” The teacher reached in and pulled out a pair of orangey-red kitty ears on a headband, and a matching, fluffy tail with a white tip. “How about a fox? Who wants to be a fox?”

“OOH!” Gilbert’s hand shot into the air, beating out the other kids who had wanted it. He leapt from his seat and grabbed his prize, returning triumphantly to his princess’s side. “I think I’ll be a good fox, ja?” Grinning, he put the ears on, tucking the tail into the waistband of his jeans.

Madeline nodded, reaching up to pet his ears. She giggled. “You’re a cute fox,” she said, softly kicking him in the leg before turning back to the teacher to see what other animals were available, missing Gilbert’s blush completely.

The teacher pulled out several more sets of cat ears and matching tails, which were quickly swiped up. She pulled out feathered headdresses, for bluejays, goldfinches, and robins. Madeline fidgeted. Would she even get a costume…?

Finally, there were only two costumes left, and two students. The teacher pulled out two sets of ears: One had floppy brown ears, complete with a little black nose to wear over your own. Madeline didn’t really want to be a doggy, though. She let the other girl take it, and waited, holding her breath to see the last costume. Gilbert patted her arm and shrugged.

The last costume had two rounded white ears, and a pair of white teddy bear gloves. She gasped, reaching for them and slipping them on as soon as she had them in her possession. She turned to Gilbert with a wide grin. “Look, Gil!” she exclaimed. “I’m a polar bear! The polar bear and the fox!” She giggled again, and Gilbert laughed along with her.

“Princess Madeline of the Polar Bears,” he said with a smirk. “And her loyal knight, Sir Gilbert of the…the Sly foxes!”

She laughed and petted his ears again. “The best knight. The best, foxiest knight!”

 


	11. Kigurumis

Madeline and Gilbert were sitting in their usual spot on the play mat, building a house together out of brightly-colored blocks. Free time was their favorite time of day, since they were allowed to play anything they wanted. 

“Nooo, Gil! You can’t put the garage there!” she poked him in the side, and he turned to her, frowning. 

“Why not?” he asked. “This is the best place for a garage! See, then the little people can go in from this door here!” He pointed to a gap between the blocks.

Madeline shook her head. “No. That’s where the garden and the doggie house are going! The garage has to go on the other side!” She waved around a small plastic house with the name “Fido” carved in above the door.

Gilbert sighed and moved around to start building the garage. “Fiiiiine,” he said. “But now I need to knock a hole in this wall….”

“Excuse me,” a small voice called to them, and they looked up to see their friend and classmate, Sakura, smiling nervously at them, holding two large wrapped packages in her arms. “Um…my ojisan sent me some gifts from…from Japan. But I won’t…um. I won’t need these two…so I would like you to have them.” She bowed slightly, handing the first package to Gilbert in her open palms, and the second to Madeline. Madeline squeezed her package slightly.

“Thanks, Sakura,” she said with a smile. “What are they?”

Gilbert had already begun to rip into his, and he pulled out a bundle of soft orange fabric. A blanket? He pursed his lips in confusion and hastily unfolded it. “Whoa!” he said excitedly once he could see what it was. “A lion costume??”

“They’re called kigu…kigurumis,” Sakura explained hesitantly. “My okasan said that they were like…um, like pajamas. But they’re animals.” She smiled again, watching Madeline open hers.

Inside her package was a bundle of bright yellow fabric, which she unfolded to reveal an orange bird beak and big yellow wings where the sleeves would usually be. She giggled. “It’s a birdie!” she said, hugging the fabric to her chest. “Thank you, Sakura! It’s so cute!”

Sakura nodded with a smile. “You are welcome. I hope that you will enjoy them.” She waved then, and turned to run back to her friends.

Gilbert turned to Madeline with a big grin. “Hey, Princess Maddie!” he said excitedly. “Let’s put ‘em on now! It’ll be fun!” He laughed.

Madeline frowned slightly, looking down at the pajamas. “But…are we allowed to? Is it okay to…?”

“Sure!” he replied, scrambling to his feet. “Why not? It’s free time, right?” Gilbert laughed again, and this time, she smiled back at him.

“Okay. Let’s do it! I bet you’ll be a cute lion!” Giggling, Madeline took Gilbert’s proffered hand and stood. Moving over a bit to avoid knocking over their half-finished house, the two quickly pulled them on over their clothes. Madeline’s arms were a bit too tight in the bird wings, but she was really warm! And once she managed to pull the hood up over her head, she felt really, really cozy! 

Peering out from under the hood, she studied Gilbert, who had just pulled up the hood of his own. A cute lion’s face peered back at her, its mane bright and fiery. She grinned at him. “You look so cute, Gil!” she said, stepping forward and wrapping her arms—er, wings—around him. He laughed again. 

“So are you! You’re a cute little birdie! Princess Birdie!” Gilbert hugged her back. “Hmm. But don’t lions eat birdies…?” He pulled back with a sly look and licked his lips.

Madeline shrieked with laughter and pulled out of his grasp, running away from him. “You’re not gonna eat me! You’re too awesome to eat me!”

 


	12. Jokes

Sitting atop the jungle gym on the playground, Madeline grinned down at Gilbert as he climbed up to her. “Come on, slow poke!” she teased.

He snorted. “I’m comin’, I’m comin’.” Reaching up to grab the next bar, he looked up at the gray, overcast sky. He smirked then, and turned to Madeline. “Hey, Princess Maddie! What do clouds wear under their shorts?”

Madeline pursed her lips, watching him. “Um…I don’t know,” she lied. “What?”

“ _ Thunderpants _ !” Gilbert burst out laughing, pausing as he climbed. “Get it? Like  _ under _ pants?”

She chuckled. “That’s funny, Gil.” Alfie told her that joke every time the sky was cloudy. She didn’t think it was  _ that _ funny. Not after having heard it so many times.

Gilbert frowned, climbing a little higher. She didn’t sound like she’d liked his joke. He’d have to try harder. “Okay. How about this one?” He thought a moment, and then grinned again. “What did the police man say to his tummy?”

She knew this one, too. “What?” she asked, amused.

“I’ve got you under a  _ vest _ !” He laughed again. “Like ‘under ar _ rest _ ?’”

She nodded, smiling. “Good one, Gil.” She peered out at the big kids’ playground, but her big brother was nowhere in sight. He was probably off playing with Arthur or Mikkel or someone.

Gilbert frowned harder, pulling himself up to sit beside her. He wracked his brain for another joke. “Ah! How about this one? Who does a pharaoh talk to when he’s sad?” Without waiting for her answer, he shouted, “His  _ mummy _ !”

She nodded absently. Her daddy had told her that one.

He clenched his teeth. Why didn’t she like any of his jokes? They were good jokes! He thought hard, harder than before. “Oh! Okay, then! What’s brown and sticky?” He grinned mischievously. 

Wrinkling her nose, Madeline shook her head. “I don’t know. Is it something icky?”

Gilbert grinned. She’d think this one was hilarious! “No. …A  _ stick _ !” He laughed. “Get it? ‘Cause sticks are brown and  _ sticky _ ?”

She smiled at him. “Oh, a stick. That’s pretty good, Gilbert.” She patted his arm, then looked down, picking out Ivan and Carlos on the ground. “Should we call them up?”

“No! Not until I get you to laugh!” He pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t even like Ivan or Carlos that much! Why would he invite them up here with him and his princess? And he was going to make her laugh if it was the last thing he ever did! Suddenly, he remembered a million jokes at once, and he shot them off at her, rapid-fire. 

“What kind of horses go out after sunset? Nightmares!”

“Why does a moon rock taste better than a Earth rock? ‘Cause it’s a little meteor!”

“Where does the President keep his armies?”

“In his sleevies,” Madeline answered, seeming unamused.

Gilbert’s brow furrowed. “…What do you get when you cross a T-Rex with fireworks?”

“Dino-mite.”

“What do you call a bear with no teeth?”

“A gummy bear.”

“…Why shouldn’t you write with a broken pencil?”

“Because it’s pointless.” Madeline grinned at him. “I bet I can answer every single joke ever. My mommy and daddy and Alfie tell me jokes all the time.” She puffed up her chest proudly.

“Oh yeah? Then why don’t you tell  _ me  _ a joke?” He snickered. He could beat Madeline in a joke war if he tried!”

A strange light sparked in her eyes, and she nodded, grinning. “You’re on.” She thought for a moment. “…What did one snowman say to the other?”

Gilbert smirked. “’Do you smell carrots?’”

“What did zero say to eight?”

“’Nice belt!’”

She frowned. She knew the answers to all his jokes, and  _ he  _ knew the answers to all of  _ her _ jokes. She would have to try something drastic. Madeline cleared her throat. “What did the fish say when it ran into the wall?”

Gilbert’s face, which had before held a triumphant grin, now fell. He hadn’t heard this joke before…. Sighing, he asked, “What?”

Madeline looked around quickly before leaning in and replying, in a low, quiet voice, “’Dam.’”

Gilbert’s eyes widened, and he stifled a gasp, leaning back and pointing at her. “You said a bad word!” he cried. Madeline leaned closer, her eyes wild. 

“I did not, I did not!” she screeched. “It’s not a bad word!”

“Maddie said a bad word! Maddie said a bad word!” he laughed and chanted in a sing-song voice. “Princess Maddie said ‘dam’!”

 


	13. Ice Cream

“Pssst. Gilbert. Psssst.” Madeline poked him in the back of the neck, try9ing to get his attention while they stood in line.

“Whaaat?” he whined, turning to look at her and clutching his Big Bird lunch box to his chest. “Why’re you bein’ so talkative and stuff today?” She’d been talking almost nonstop all morning, and though she was his best friend and he loved her, she was starting to act a little too much like her annoying brother. Not, he decided, that she was nearly  _ that _ bad. He just wasn’t used to her being so excitable.

Madeline hopped on her toes, grinning widely, her own Lisa Frank lunch bag bouncing against her knees. “Because!” she said with a grin. “My mommy packed something really great in my lunch today!”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Something great for lunch? What is it?”

Shaking her head, Madeline opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted when their teacher started leading them down the hallway, to the cafeteria. “I’ll show you when we get there,” she said, skipping past him to walk with Pahki, who grinned back at Gilbert.

Upon arriving in the lunch room, the kindergarten class went to go sit at one of the long, skinny tables, sitting in a cluster to eat. Madeline and Gilbert sat across from each other, and the former, overcome by curiosity, was prodding at her brightly-colored lunch bag. 

“Come on,” he grumped. “What is it? What’s the really great thing in your lunch? I wanna know!”

She shook her head. “I gotta eat the rest first.” Smirking, she pulled out a peanut butter sandwich packed in a little plastic baggie and took a bite. “The other thing is for dessert,” she continued. Though, with her mouth full of peanut butter, it sounded more like “Shuh usher shing ish for dehshert.” 

He groaned, pulling a bologna sandwich out of his own pack. “But you talked about it a bunch! I wanna know what’s so amazing!”

“Nope. Ya gotts wait.” She swallowed the first bite and took another. “But it’s gonna be great. Promise.”

The two ate together in relative silence after that. Once Madeline had finished her peanut butter sandwich, Gilbert thought that he’d get to see the amazing thing; but she only put the trash aside and pulled out a bag of carrot sticks, eating each one in four slow bites, grinning at him all the while. She was  _ tormenting _ him.

Finally, she had finished her lunch, and all that remained was the super-secret dessert. He wondered what it could be. A piece of cake? Some chocolate-chip cookies? What was so special about it??

“Are you ready?” Maddie asked, her voice low and her smile mischievous. Gilbert nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes!” he said loudly. “Show me show me show me pleeease??”

She laughed and nodded. “Okay, okay! You’re funny, Gil.” Reaching into the bag, she unzipped a super-secret compartment in the bottom. Keeping her gaze locked on his, she pulled out the special dessert and set it on the table between them.

Gilbert stifled a gasp. “Is that--?”

She nodded. “Yep.”

“It’s all yours?”

Another nod. “Aaaall mine.”

There was a pause, and then he tore his gaze away from the treat and looked back at his princess. “…Are you gonna share?”

Laughing, Madeline nodded yet again and picked up the ice cream sandwich. “A’course! You get half and I get half!” She carefully unwrapped it, pleased that it had only melted a little, and broke it in half. Eyeing them for a moment, she then handed him the slightly bigger piece. “Mommy said I could have one today because I was really good all week! Alfie didn’t get one, ‘cause he broke the lamp.” 

Gilbert took his half of the ice cream sandwich, his mouth watering and his eyes widening in awe. “Wow, you’re the best!” Grinning widely, he took a big bite of the sandwich, barely even flinching as he sank his teeth into the frozen treat. “You are most benevolent, Princess Madeline.” He laughed, and so did she.

She wished she could bring ice cream sandwiches more often. She loved Gilbert’s laugh, and when he was happy, it made her happy.

 


	14. Cis Swap

Matthew sat quietly in his chair, meticulously coloring a picture of a polar bear. Beside him, his friend Anya admired his work. “You should draw a sunflower,” she said, smiling sweetly. “The bear should have something pretty, yes?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, maybe….” But it was  _ his _ polar bear. And polar bears didn’t play with sunflowers!

“The awesome me is here!” A loud, high-pitched screech announced the arrival of Matthew’s best friend, Julchen. He spun around and grinned at the silver-haired girl.

“Hi, Julie,” he called, getting up out of his chair and hurrying toward her. He shot an apologetic glance at Anya, who gave him a small smile before picking up a yellow crayon.

“Prince Mattie!” the girl cried, flinging her arms around him and squeezing him. “I missed you! I hate weekends ‘cause we don’t get to see each other! Hey, is that a new vest? It’s soft!” She released him and started running her hands up and down his black vest, giggling. “It’s all…slippery! Awesome!”

“Yeah, it’s new. Mama bought it for me yesterday.” He stood up straighter, grinning. It was a nice vest. It matched his shiny black shoes. “She said I’m s’posed to wear it to my auntie’s wedding, but I wanted to wear it today, too.”

Julchen giggled again. “Well, it’s really awesome! Now no one can doubt your princeyness!” Grabbing his hand, she pulled him over to their usual play mat, flopping onto it and pulling him down with her. She grabbed up a box of blocks and dumped them out. “Hey, Mattie! Let’s build a castle! We can use all the blocks and make it really,  _ really _ big! And it can be Jones Manor! Or Mattie Manor! Castle Matthew! Yeah!” Laughing, she began to build the foundation.

He smiled, sorting the blocks out by size and color. “Why not Julchen Manor?” he asked, handing her a blue block. ‘Or Biel—Bielsh—Beil….” He frowned. He could never pronounce her last name.

“Beilschmidt!” she laughed. “And it can’t be Beilschmidt Castle! Ya gotta name castles after the kings! And you’re gonna grow up and be a king, so it’s gotta be Matthew or Jones!” She took the blue block and carefully started the next level.

Matthew paused. “…But just ‘cause I’m a prince, that doesn’t mean that  _ you _ can’t be a princess. Right?” He smiled a bit. Julchen had claimed that Matthew was a prince since their first day of kindergarten, due to his perpetual wearing of vests, dress shirts, slacks, and spiffy shoes. He didn’t really see himself as a prince—he was just a boy. A boring boy, too, if his sister Amy had anything to say about it.

Pausing, Julchen looked up at him, locking eyes for a moment before shaking her head. “No. I’m not a princess!  _ I’m _ a knight. And a builder. Look at this awesome castle!” Grinning, she continued building the walls upward.

He smiled a little, handing her another block. “…But you’re a girl, Julie. Girls can’t be knights….”

She huffed at him, puffing up her chest and resting her hands on her hips. “Who says??” she asked haughtily. “Girls can be everything boys can be! I’m an awesome lady knight! I have a suit of armor and a sword and a big, fast horse and I can fight all the bad guys! The prince hasta have someone to protect him, you know!” She stuck her tongue out at him and continued building, shooing away the mean little Italian girl who tried to take some of the blocks.

Blinking, Matthew looked her over, frowning a little. “…Can you really do all that stuff…? I mean….” Matthew couldn’t even do that. And weren’t boys supposed to protect girls, and take care of them? Not the other way around. Julchen should be a princess. And  _ he _ should be a knight.

She nodded. “Ja! My vati is teaching me to use a sword, and he’s gonna start teachin’ Monika next year! I’ll be the best knight ever! You can make me captain of your royal guard! That sounds cool, huh? Awesome!” She started building the roof of the castle now.

Matthew smiled and nodded. It was true that he was the boy, and she was the girl. She should be the princess, the one he took care of. But she was good at fighting and horseback riding and all sorts of things he wasn’t good at. So it was good that she was a knight, and not him. 

He was better at stuff, too. He was better at reading and writing—he could write his whole name, plus the alphabet, plus some other words, too—and he was better at fixing arguments, and better at listening to their teacher. So maybe she was right. Julchen was a good knight, and Matthew was a good prince. 

“There! The castle’s all finished!” Julchen beamed proudly at the structure, which had indeed needed all of the blocks. Four turrets stood on top, one on each corner, and she’d found a little plastic flag somewhere an set it on top. It was a great castle, really. Matthew nodded, turning toward her.

“Yep! Because my favorite knight is the best castle-builder in the world! Now it just needs a name.” He thought for a moment. “…How about Julie and Matt Manor? Or…the Jones-Biel…Beilschmidt…Manor?”

Julchen blinked. “…But Matt! Castles don’t get named after knights, remember??”

He grinned at her, a sly grin. “They do if the knight turns into a queen.”

“But I’m not—!”

“You can still be a knight if you marry the prince, right? Lady Julchen Jones.”

She blushed. “I…! Oh, Matt! I’m gonna get you for that!”

Laughing, he leapt to his feet and ran off, as she gave chase. Julchen Jones. It had a nice ring to it.

 


	15. Different Clothing

At least no one could see what she was wearing while she was sitting here at the table. Luckily, she’d been the first one here today, so no one had seen yet (except for the teacher, who had only been mildly surprised and had, thankfully, not mentioned it). But kids were steadily pouring into the room, chattering and carrying on. She couldn’t sit here all day.

Madeline frowned, scribbling on her paper with extra vigor. This wasn’t fair. She didn’t want to wear something like this all day. It was stupid.

“Princess Madeline!” Gilbert called, tossing his little backpack onto the floor and hurrying over to her. He hadn’t taken his thick jacket off yet, which was a bit unusual for him. “Hey, let’s go play with the blocks and stuff! We can build a ramp for the racecars and launch ‘em! Awesome, right?” He grabbed her arm, pulling her in the direction of the play mat. Madeline held onto the sides of the chair as tight as she could, refusing to budge.

“No,” she pouted. “I wanna stay here and color!” Actually, building a racecar ramp sounded fun. But the longer she put off his seeing her in this ridiculous getup, the better. 

Gilbert released her and frowned. “…But you get tons of time to color later! During free time and stuff! Pleeease can we build a ramp?”

She shook her head. “No! I don’t wanna. I wanna color.” She puffed up her cheeks, bending low over her paper and pressing the crayon harder, making her lines dark and erratic.

“…But Maddie! I really wanna build one! I got a new racecar and I wanna see how it goes!” He grabbed her arm again and tugged, earning a glare from his friend.

“Fine!” she said angrily, shaking his arm off and pushing back from the table. “We’ll go build your stupid ramp, okay??” She stood up, fists balled up at her sides when they would usually be clutching at her long skirt. Gilbert stared at her, eyes wide.

“Maddie? Why are you wearing  _ jeans _ ?” Princess Madeline  _ never  _ wore anything but those long dresses, with the poofy skirts and sometimes frilly lace or bows. But now she stood in front of him in a pair of blue jeans and an old, too-big T-shirt. He blinked.

Madeline scuffed her toe across the carpet, looking down. Her anger had disappeared, replaced now with only embarrassment. “…Yes,” she mumbled. 

“But…why?” 

She shook her head. “…’Cause I got a big grass stain on my dress yesterday…and Mommy said that I had to wear jeans today. And tomorrow, maybe, if I stain the jeans.” They were her jeans, but Alfie’s shirt. She didn’t own any T-shirts, herself. And Mommy had said that if she was going to play like a boy, then she had to  _ dress _ like a boy.

Gilbert remained silent for a moment, evaluating. “…That’s dumb,” he said. It was odd, seeing her in something other than a dress; but he shrugged it off. “Anyway, are we gonna go build the ramp now?”

“…You’re not gonna…say anything else?” Madeline asked quietly, fidgeting a bit. She’d never liked the feel of jeans, and tried to avoid wearing them as much as possible. She knew she must look silly, dressed as a boy. Not at all like the princess that Gilbert claimed she was.

He shook his head. “No. Why? There’s nothin’ wrong with it. I mean, it’s kinda…weird, but it’s not bad! Besides,” he continued, seeing no change in expression, “it’s not like you  _ need _ a dress to be a princess! Right? Dresses don’t make you a princess!”

Madeline looked up, frowning. “…They don’t…?” But her dresses were the whole reason he started calling her a princess in the first place! Weren’t they?

“Nope! ‘Cause anyone can tell you’re a princess just from how awesome you are!” He grinned, taking one of her hands, which were now hanging loosely at her sides. “Now, let’s go make the ramp before we have to do class stuff! Come on!” 

Madeline laughed, following him over to the blocks. He was right. Clothes didn’t change who you were. They were just clothes.

She still preferred dresses, though.


	16. Mornings

Little Madeline woke up at exactly fifteen minutes after seven in the morning, thanks to the bright red alarm clock she’d received that year for Christmas. Hopping out of bed, she snatched up the clothes her mother had laid out for her last night (a long, forest green dress with lace around the collar, as well as a pair of matching knee-high socks), and changed out of her nightgown. 

Once she was dressed, she hurried down the hall and into the kitchen, where her father stood at the stove, cooking breakfast. Her brother Alfie was sitting at the table and waiting for food, though he hadn’t dressed yet. “Morning, Daddy! Morning, Alfie!” she said, hopping up into the seat beside Alfred’s.

Her father grinned at her and carried two plates of food to them, pressing a kiss to Madeline’s forehead. “Good morning, sweetie,” he said, ruffling her hair and doing the same to Alfie’s. 

She smiled and started in on her scrambled eggs and bacon. It wasn’t as good as pancakes were, but they were still pretty tasty. As she was eating, her mother came in with the hairbrush and hairbands and began to brush her hair. Luckily, it wasn’t too tangled this morning, so she could deal with it.

Once breakfast was all finished, her father handed them each their backpacks—Madeline’s a small, dainty blue with a butterfly pattern, and Alfie's, of course, a slightly larger red-white-and-blue bag. Their mother then led them out to the car and buckled them in, heading for the school.

Sitting in her seat, Madeline held her little bag in her lap. She would get to see Gilbert (and all of her other friends) soon. She loved school so much.

***

Gilbert was awakened at sometime around seven o'clock by a wailing from the other bed. He groaned and rolled onto his stomach, pulling the pillow over his head to try and block out the shrieking sounds his little brother was making, but to no avail. He heard his mother come in with a sigh and a less-than-cheerful "Good morning, boys," and the wailing abruptly stopped. 

Unfortunately, he would still have to get up now, since there was no chance of him going back to sleep. He rolled out of bed, landing on the carpet with a dull thump. After a few moments, he stood up and staggered sleepily over to his drawers, grabbing the first T-shirt he touched and a pair of jeans. He dressed quickly and grabbed a comb, yanking it through his thick, messy hair as he watched his mother care for his baby brother.

Once he had combed his hair and his mother had finished tending to Luddy, the three of them went into the kitchen, where Gilbert was given two strawberry poptarts, and Ludwig was fed Cheerios. Gilbert ate his poptarts quickly, scarfing them down. After he had finished, he ran off into the living room to get his backpack, and leapt into his father's lap. "Vati, vati! I'm ready to go to school!" he cried, pulling on his father's collar. His father sighed, smiling a little.

"Alright, alright. Get in the car. I hope you keep this attitude throughout your life," he added quietly.

On the way to school, Gilbert bounced excitedly in the back seat. He was almost to school! Almost to school! He'd get to see Princess Maddie soon!

***

"Gilbert!" Madeline called, dragging her backpack across the room and flinging her arms around him once she had arrived. "I missed you! Wanna lay a game??"

He nodded, grinning. "Hi, Princess," he said. Ja, let's go play something! I've been waiting all morning!"

 


	17. Siblings

Madeline’s brother was  _ not _ someone that Gilbert wanted to hang out with. He was standing there, babbling on and on and on about something that had happened in his dumb first grade class earlier. Something to do with permanent markers and a dry erase board. Gilbert didn't know what was wrong, and, frankly, he didn't care. 

The two, along with Madeline, were waiting at the pick-up spot for their parents, so they could go home. Gilbert's father usually picked him up right on time, but it seemed as though he was running late today. He shot a desperate look at Madeline, who stood between Gilbert and Alfie, staring straight ahead and humming under her breath.

"And then Artie yelled at me and said I was bad 'cause you're not s'posed to use them on a white board, but I didn't know! I thought they were just reg'lar markers, like the teacher uses!" He laughed. “Hey, did you know that, um, cowboys wore bandannas 'cause it kept 'em from gettin' all gross and sweaty? And if it got dusty they put it over their mouths so they could breathe! Cool, huh?" He grinned at Gilbert, bouncing on his toes as they waited.

Gilbert sighed. It didn't seem like he'd shut up anytime soon. "Sounds gross," he said. "Ya gotta breathe in all the icky sweat from the bandanna that way. Gross." Maybe if he went along with it, he'd go away.

Madeline looked up at him then, and gave a short laugh. "Yeah," she said quietly. "That's really icky. It would smell icky, too." She wrinkled her nose, smiling.

Alfie snorted. "What do  _ you _ know about cowboys, Mads?  _ you're _ a girl!"

She frowned. "...But that doesn't mean that--"

"Girls don't know  _ anythin' _ . Only  _ boys _ do. Right, Gil?" He flashed a grin at him, and Madeline fell silent, looking down at the ground and scuffing the toe of her shoe on the sidewalk. She knew stuff...! She was really smart. ...Maybe not smart enough, though....

Gilbert sent Alfred a glare. "Girls know tons of stuff! Especially Princess Madeline! She's  _ way _ smarter than  _ you _ are. You just  _ pretend _ to know stuff!” He crossed his arms angrily at the other, and Alfie frowned.

"I know a whole lotta stuff! Like how cowboys sang to their cows at night to keep 'em calm, and--"

"You just know dumb stuff about cowboys! Quit bein' mean to Maddie! Princesses aren't s'posed to be treated like that!" Gilbert stomped his foot in emphasis, and Madeline grabbed hold of his arm, giving him a reassuring smile. She liked that he stood up for her, but it didn't matter, anyway. Alfie never even realized that he was being mean.

Alfred had just opened his mouth to reply when a car pulled up in front of them. A stern-faced blond man peered out of the car at them. "Hello, children," he said. His voice sounded funny, like Gilbert's did, but even funnier.

Gilbert grinned. "Vati! You're late!" Grabbing the door handle, he yanked it open, only to find that his usual seat had already been taken by a car seat, which held his little brother, Ludwig. "Oh, hi Luddy! I guess Vati's late because he had to get you!" Pushing all thoughts of Alfred's annoying behavior out of his mind, Gilbert turned to Madeline and gestured for her to come closer. "See, see? Isn't my baby bruder so cute?"

Madeline skipped closer and peered inside, giggling at the cute little boy. "Yes," she said. "He's really cute. Hi, Luddy!” She waved at him, and he smiled happily and waved a little stuffed toy at her. She turned back to Gilbert. “You’re lucky you get a little brother instead of a big one. Big ones are annoying.”

“Hey!”

Gilbert laughed. “Ja, it looks like it! …Well, bye, Princess Maddie!” He gave her a quick hug, then ran around to the other side of the car to get in. “See you tomorrow!” Hopefully her dumb brother wouldn’t be too stupid.

“Yeah. Bye, Gilly! Have fun! Bye, Luddy! Bye, Mr. Vati!” Madeline waved as the car pulled away, and then turned back to Alfie. “…You’re a meanie-head,” she said with conviction. And before Alfred had a chance to reply, their own ride arrived.


	18. Together

“Okay. And what’s… _ this _ word?” Madeline pointed to one of the words in the picture book they were looking at. The book was opened, with half of it in each of their laps. Madeline had discovered that she was a much better reader than Gilbert was, and was determined to teach him what she could.

“Uhh….” Let’s see…that letter is a  _ B _ —he could recognize that one, since it was the first letter of his last name. The second letter was an  _ E _ . It looked like the top of a trident, or a crown. The third letter…that one was an  _ A _ . It was the first letter of the ABCs. And the last letter…that was the one he was having trouble with. It looked kind of like a  _ B _ , except the bottom swoop is broken. He frowned, furrowing his brow in concentration. He  _ knew _ that letter—he knew it was important. But he just couldn’t remember what it was! “Be…bea…umm….” He sighed, finding it impossible to sound it out. He’d never learn to read as well as Madeline did.

“Yeah, you got those three right!” she said enthusiastically. She pointed at the last letter. “That one looks kinda like a  _ B _ , right? But see, it’s a  _ R. _ You have a  _ R _ in your name.  _ G-I-L-B-E-R-T _ .” She smiled. “So what does “ _ B-E-A-R _ spell?”

He thought. “Bea…be…oh!” He hit himself in the forehead with the palm of his hand. “ _ Dummkopf _ ! It spells ‘bear.’ Right?”

She laughed and nodded, turning the page to reveal a picture of a big brown bear. “Yeah! Good job, Sir Gilbert!” she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, then turned the page again to reveal another word. “Okay. Now this one! You know two of the letters now, right?”

He frowned in concentration again, putting his index finger under each of the letters as he read them aloud. “ _ B… _ um, that one’s a  _ I…R… _ ” Yeah, he could remember that one now. “And… _ D _ ?” Those letters. They spelled… “Bird!”

“Yeah! Good job, Gil!” she kissed his cheek again and turned the page to a picture of a yellow songbird. “That was the last one! Wanna do it again?” She was proud of her friend for sticking to it so well. She was glad that he’d read all the words in the big book. He would be reading just like her in no time!

“Sure. Let’s do it until I know ‘em all!” Leaning over, he kissed her cheek in return and flipped back to the beginning to read it again.


	19. Formal

Gilbert pulled uncomfortably at the collar of his new dress shirt. It was stiff and itchy, and definitely  _ not _ what he wanted to be wearing. His pants were too big, too, and he had to wear a belt to keep them up. The belt was too tight and dug into his skin, but at least it kept his slacks up so no one would see his boxers. His shoes were too tight and stiff, as well. Black and shiny, and they pinched his toes. He huffed a little, shifting his stance. Why did he have to dress up for this dumb thing, anyway? It was just ‘cause the grown-ups thought he looked “smart” and “sophisticated.” Whatever  _ that _ meant.

He looked around then, to see that no one seemed to be paying much attention to him. Scrunching his shoulders down and lowering his head, he hurried over to the side of the room, ducking behind the big toy bin. Once he was certain he was out of sight, he undid his belt and yanked his shoes off, sighing with relief and sagging against the bin. At least now he was  _ kinda _ comfortable.

“Gilbert? What are you doing?”

He looked up to see Maddie standing nearby, hands clasped behind her back as she watched him. He grinned at her and laughed. “These clothes are stupid,” he replied, waving one of the shoes at her. She smiled.

“Too bad.  _ I _ didn’t have to dress any different. My dresses are fancy enough.” To prove it, she took up the edges of her skirt and twirled twice, smiling at him. 

Gilbert nodded. “Yeah. That’s ‘cause you  _ always _ wear your princess dresses. But  _ me _ —I’m just a knight, and knights don’t need fancy clothes.” He puffed up his chest proudly. Madeline chuckled and moved to sit by him, picking up one of his discarded shoes and holding it in her lap. 

“At least it’s just one day, right? You don’t have to dress like…” she thought for a moment, then smiled again. “…Like a prince  _ all _ the time. Just for stuff like this dumb parent-teacher conf…meeting thingy.”

“Yeah….” Gilbert took his shoe from her and quickly pulled them both back on, fastening his belt again as well. “But I guess it’s okay if I’m a prince for just a day, right? After all, I get to spend it with you.”

 


	20. Dancing

“Left foot forward, Gilbert. Careful not to step on your partner’s feet! Good. Now back—no, Gilbert, be careful!” The dance instructor leapt forward and caught Gilbert just before he hit the ground, helping him to his feet. “Don’t take such a big step, Gilbert. Small steps, or you lose your balance. Keep time with your partner, okay?” She smiled at them, and then backed off, hurrying over to help another pair.

Gilbert groaned, dropping his hands to his sides. “This sucks!” he whined. “Why do we have to do this? It’s dumb.” He looked down at his shoes and folded his arms across his chest in frustration. Dancing was hard, and it was stupid. He was never gonna have to dance, anyway!

Madeline smiled softly and took one of his hands. “You’ll get it,” she said encouragingly. “My mommy and daddy signed me up ‘cause they said it would be fun. And it  _ is _ fun, ‘cause  _ you’re  _ here. Come on! I bet we can learn to dance faster than any of the other kids. Even the big ones!” She laughed, taking his other hand as well.

He acquiesced and repositioned his hands as he had been instructed, with one on her waist and the other on her shoulder; he shook his head, however. “No. Maybe  _ you _ can—you’re a princess! But I’m never gonna learn this. I’ve got—I’ve got….” How did it go again? “I’ve got two left feet!”

She giggled, placing her hands on his waist. “Only ‘cause you keep  _ thinking _ it! Don’t think about your feet—no, don’t look at them, either!” She tapped his foot with her own, causing him to look back up and meet her gaze. “Mommy says that if you don’t think about doin’ somethin’  _ wrong, _ then you’re more likely to do it  _ right. _ Like Alfie and baseball! He used to suck at it, and he kept gettin’ hit with the ball, but now he’s really good! I bet you can be like that, too. See? You’re already doin’ it!”

And it was true. As she was talking, Madeline had begun the dance once more, leading him through it and keeping his attention on herself. Gilbert glanced down at his feet in shock, and abruptly stumbled, falling forward and being caught by his friend. He righted himself as soon as he could, blushing. He’d actually…danced? It wasn’t possible. He had two left feet! He shook his head in disbelief.

But Madeline simply smiled and took his hands once more. “Let’s do it again, Gilbert. We’ll get it this time!”

And of course, the knight must always oblige his princess.


	21. Cooking

“Yeah. You just put a little bit of it in, like this. See? You have to sprinkle it.” Madeline took a pinch of the baking powder and carefully sprinkled it in the mixing bowl, watching as Gilbert copied her actions with his own bowl of ingredients. “Yeah, like that! Good job. Okay…now we need to put in egg and milk. Can you give me the milk?” 

Gilbert nodded, handing the small plastic jug to her and watching as she measured out a precise amount of the liquid. Today she was teaching him to cook a special recipe, like her daddy had taught her, she said. He’d never had pancakes before, but she said they were the best things ever. And, of course, he  _ did _ like cake…so it stood to reason that he’d like these pancake things, too, right? 

Following her instructions as closely as he could, Gilbert soon had a bowl of batter ready to go. He wiped at his face, unknowingly smearing a streak of the batter across his cheek, and watched as Maddie carefully began to pour batter into the hot pan.

It sizzled immediately, and she hurried to turn the temperature down before gesturing for him to do the same with his batter. 

Gilbert wound up with the edge of his sleeve coated in batter, but at least his pancake was cooking nicely.

“Okay. Now, you gotta check it a lot, and when the bottom’s done, you hafta flip it over so the top can cook.”

He nodded, picking up the spatula he’d been given. “How d’you know when the bottom’s done if you can’t see the bottom…?” He’d never cooked anything before; it was always his mutti and vati who cooked.

“I’ll show you.” Madeline picked up her own spatula and slipped it under the edge of the pancake, lifting it slightly and peering under it. “…Yup! Mine’s done!” She flipped the pancake over, revealing the golden-brown side. It made Gilbert’s mouth water.

Once both their pancakes were finished (Gilbert’s had burned a little on one side, but Maddie said it was good for a first try), they put them on plates and set them on the little two-person table. Immediately, Gilbert picked up his fork and used it to cut off a piece of his pancake, spearing it and popping it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, frowning a bit. It was…okay. But it definitely wasn’t cake…. 

Madeline noticed his disappointed expression and giggled. “It’s not as good plain,” she said, picking up a bottle of a dark, viscous liquid. “It’s  _ really _ good if you put this on it. Here; try some!”

He took the bottle, opened it, ad sniffed it. It smelled sweet, and different from anything else he’d tried. He poured some of it onto the pancake, handing the bottle back before taking another bite. His eyes widened, his chewing slowing down as he savored the taste.

“See? It’s good, huh?? It’s maple syrup!”

He nodded. He’d have to come over all the time if it meant he’d get more of this maple stuff. Maddie sure knew how to make him happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, this fic is officially finished!  
> I had a lot of fun rereading this, and I remember having a lot of fun writing it, too. Although, now that I'm older and have had a lot more experience with this age group, I realize that a lot of things little Maddie and Gil say aren't 100% accurate.   
> That being said, I don't think I'll be rewriting it anytime soon.
> 
> Originally, I had planned on writing a chapter fic in this universe set in high school. Maddie and her family moved away during the summer after her kindergarten year, and though she and Gil missed and fondly remembered their childhood friend, they each moved on.  
> Then, during her sophomore year of high school, she moves back, and she and Gil get reacquainted with each other, and eventually develop mutual crushes on each other and then start dating. It was all very sweet and sappy.  
> Maddie had moved on from princess dresses to fairy kei or decora kei during this time, as well, haha.
> 
> Anyway, I doubt I'll ever write that fic, but if I do, you can look forward to bisexual teenage Maddie and her lesbian gf Julchen! ;)


End file.
